Numerical investigation of elasto-inertial particle focusing patterns in viscoelastic microfluidic devices

Abstract

Viscoelastic microfluidic devices are promising for various microscale procedures such as particle sorting and separation. In this study, we perform three dimensional computational investigation of a particle in a viscoelastic channel flow by considering combined inertial and elastic effects. We calculate equilibrium positions of the particle in the microchannel for a wide range of Reynolds and Weissenberg numbers, which are important in the design of microfluidic devices. The results provide an insight into the motion of cells and particles and explain the findings of previous experiments. Furthermore, we suggest new particle behaviors that have not been found before. Ultimately, a phase diagram is provided to predict the particle dynamics under a wide range of inertial and elastic effects.